Singlespeed & Fixed Gear"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five.
Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Just picked this Raleigh off of craigslist today. It is already a single speed. So it looks like all I has to do is get some new tires and fix that seat. What do you all think? I am thinking of blue bar tape and blue tires. If it fits my lil sister it will be her UF campus ride.

also keep the freewheel. slack geo and hiten frame make it much better suited to cruising around with the freewheel. imo the fixed cog makes me dash around everywhere like an ******* (actually i do that too on my multispeed bike, guess i'm not good at going a "chill" pace)

mmm... a 20-30 frame with a geometry slightly less slack than a recumbent. you will probably want to drop a boatload of cash on new cranks and bb (is that a cottered crank?), probably new wheels (that back one is a re-dish and probably way out of true), a new saddle (at least one that doesn't point 45 degrees up), a good cog and a new chainring.

that's a lot of coin to throw into a frame with the performance characteristics of a shopping cart.

you know, i re-read my post and realize that i sound tremendously like a jerk.

it's true that fixing this up will be way money and the frame is heavy and sluggish, but it is a very pretty-looking piece of steel and if you are looking for a comfort bike or a sunday ride it will dress up very nicely.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't that a higher end Raleigh? Team and Record seem to indicate it is, but being from the 70's it probably isn't going to look spectacularly nice in comparison but it's not bad.

And what's there to "fix"? Just get a new rear wheel, possibly better brakes, new saddle, pedals and wrap and it's a solid ride after some spit shining. That frame's got a nice patina to it, don't get it powdercoated and slap on new cranks etc, second using it as a town cruiser even as SS.

Also, those don't appear to be cottered cranks. I don't see any pins, and the place where the bolt appears to be is not smooth. I am not a drivetrain expert, but I've worked on old bikes with cottered cranks before, and it doesn't look like this bike would need a massive overhaul there.